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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28123716">Steven Universe Farther Into the Future Episode 27: Homeworld Warriors</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LMasterm1nd/pseuds/LMasterm1nd'>LMasterm1nd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Steven Universe Farther into the Future [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alien Character(s), Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Alien Invasion, Crying, Crystal Gems, Drama, Epic Battles, F/F, F/M, Space Battles, War</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:21:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,237</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28123716</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LMasterm1nd/pseuds/LMasterm1nd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 3 of the series finale arc</p><p>The Gembusters have found Homeworld. The Battle for Homeworld begins now, as a peaceful solution doesn't seem very likely, but then again, stranger things have happened.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amethyst &amp; Garnet &amp; Pearl &amp; Steven Universe, Blue Diamond &amp; Steven Universe &amp; White Diamond &amp; Yellow Diamond, Connie Maheswaran &amp; Steven Universe, Garnet/Ruby/Sapphire (Steven Universe), Greg Universe &amp; Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), Lars Barriga/Emerald, Mystery Girl/Pearl (Steven Universe)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Steven Universe Farther into the Future [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607287</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Impending Battle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aboard the mobile space station that served as the Gembuster HQ, The Prospector, smiled gladly, now that the HQ was in Homeworld's atmosphere. "Pearls! Get my good coat!" He commanded to his pearls. His pearls quickly ran through his wardrobe, which was filled with many coats adorned with gem shards from the many gems he had shattered. Each pearl picked up one coat and presented it to him. "No, no, no, not that one! I'm here to declare war, you imbeciles!" The Prospector complained, smacking each Pearl who presented him with the wrong one. </p><p>Finally a fine red coat was chosen, adorned with shards of what were once high ranking gems. "Ah, splendid, splendid, I need to look my best after all" said the Prospector "what is the point of declaring war if you can't look good doing it. Monitor, now!" "Yes, master Prospector" said the nearest Pearl, going over to press a button that gave a live feed of Homeworld's surface. The Prospector looked around for a plethora of gems infected with the Amber virus, but was shocked to see there were no infected. "What is this?" The Prospector growled. "So, it's finally time, is it?" asked Llesh who had entered The Prospector's Quarters. The Prospector turned and glared at him "Tell me, old friend, why is nobody infected!?" He asked. </p><p>"No one infected? What do you mean?" asked Llesh. The Prospector vigorously gestured towards the monitor, showing that there was no infected gems. "I don't understand it, this virus infected an entire planet of gems within twenty four hours, so why hasn't it happened here, huh!?" The Prospector growled. Llesh was at a loss for words. "Pearls, lock the door, Llesh is not to leave this room unless I'm with him" The Prospector ordered "his failed plan of infecting Homeworld with the virus is proof that his age has effected his mind, and feeble elderly creatures must be supervised by the young and able, like me."</p><hr/><p>Meanwhile on the surface of Homeworld, huge holograms showed up in the sky, being projected by the Gembuster ships. On the holographic screens, The Prospector, leader of the Gembusters, appeared. "Greetings, gems of the Gem Homeworld, I couldn't help but notice none of you were infected with the amber virus, we so generously sent to this planet" He announced "I mean, I was expecting you all to be orange and motionless by now, I also couldn't help but notice your planet's literally in pieces, I mean, some "perfect" empire, you literally can't keep your planet together. Anyway...had you chosen to get infected, you wouldn't have to suffer, but you just made yourselves more fun to kill, so, I formally declare war, have a nice final day."</p><p>Everybody on Homeworld was shocked at this announcement. A couple of gems looked at Steven angrily, they were all former high ranking gems, including a familiar Holly Blue Agate. "Well, I hope you're happy with yourself" said Holly "you and your disorganized era 3" "Yeah, you and your "oooh let's get rid of all our weapons" crap" said a Jade. These high ranking Gems kept surrounding Steven. Just as the diamonds and the crystal gems were about to step in, a few laser blasts caused silence. There was Don Ruby, holding her laser blaster that looked like a machine gun, taking a puff of her cigar "Awright, we's can play the blame game all we wants, but dat ain't gonna solve dis problem" said Don Ruby "sure, Steven's era 3 caused for the dismantling of weapons, but not all of them, look around, I have hidden armouries everywhere, even in this palace, and use the weapons in your gems if applicable, sheesh."</p><p>"Okay, first the secret tunnel leading into my room, the hidden armoury and now she's hidden armouries in this palace!?" White exclaimed "This ruby's beginning to scare me now." Everyone in the palace was scampering around the palace for hidden compartments like a completionist looking for hidden secrets in a video game. "Thanks for the save, Don Ruby" said Steven. "Think nothing of it, but don't completely dismiss what those gems were saying" said Don Ruby "The ugly truth is, sometimes, weapons are necessary, yeah, there are people out there who shouldn't be trusted with weapons, however, for the purposes of defence, it's better to have weapons and never having to use them, than having no weapons and all of the sudden you do need them..." </p><p>Connie was talking to her children. "Kids, something big is happening, I think you need to leave" said Connie. "What!? But mom, all these poor gems are in danger, I want to help!" said Rose "We've fought these guys before." "I know, but this is an all out war, this is different, you, your brother, your sisters, you kids mean so much to both me and your father" Connie explained "If something were to happen to any of you...I wouldn't know what I'd do with myself." "Mom, you let me go to the Gembuster HQ to help save Great Aunt Yellow, Yellow wasn't exactly easy to smuggle out of that place" Piers argued. </p><p>"Listen to him, Mom, we've grown up a lot mom" said Rose "nothing's going to happen to us, we've got futures to look forward to, if these guys win here than they'll go back to Earth anyway, so let us fight here and finish off these Gembusters once and for all!" Connie was speechless, moved by what Rose said. She gave Rose a hug "If this were any other circumstance, you'd be so grounded for telling me off like that" she said. Rose felt her Girlfriend's hand on her shoulder "Let's fight together, babe" "You got it, Selena" Rose shot back, the two kissed and than fused back into Roselena.</p><p>As soon as everyone was armed, Steven got in front of everyone. "Alright, I know some of you weren't satisfied with the changes I bought to era 3, but that's the whole point of how things are ran now, so that everyone, including the gems who preferred the old ways, can have a say, sure, there may have been a few rules I shouldn't have made, but that's not important now" said Steven "what's important right now is out there, we're going to defend ourselves, I'm normally all for peaceful solutions, but this doesn't look like it's going to end this way, the best I can hope for is for us to overwhelm them and have them surrender, but we need to band together and fight not just for this planet, but for ourselves as well!" Every gem, including the ones who were previously mad at Steven cheered at his rally.</p><p>"Well, come on then, let's show them what we're made of!" Steven rallied, leading the charge out of the palace.  </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Battle plan 1: The Hidden Weapon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been exactly 24 hours since the battle for Homeworld had begun. Steven and Don Ruby had both taken charge of all gems taking part in the battle. The Diamonds were ordered to stay put in the palace, as it seemed likely that if they were to go onto the frontlines, all Gembuster soldiers and all armed Gembuster ships would go right for them, they were pretty big targets after all. Steven, along with many gems that had military experience were leading the frontlines of the battle. Don Ruby, was the chief tactician of the military effort, because, as the former boss of the now defunct Homeworld Underground, she knew all the ins and outs of Homeworld, that not even the diamonds were aware of. </p><p>Don Ruby had hidden a secret weapon somewhere down in Homeworld's catacombs, one of her many escape plans in case of the Diamonds had ever come for them back in the old days of Era 1. She had sent a small battalion of gems and one of Steven's kids to go retrieve it. Leading the expedition was Holly Blue Agate, next was Piers Universe, Pearl, Amethyst, five rubies and two Peridots. Pearl downloaded the digital map into her gem and lead everyone to where Don Ruby had said the weapon was going to be.</p><p>"I don't see why you have to be the leader" Holly Blue grumbled. "Because, I am the only way the map can be read without any interlopers looking into it" Pearl bragged. "Interlopers? The frontline's been keeping these Gembusters at bay, and we're entering territory that only Don Ruby and her flunkies knew about, I highly doubt any interlopers would be around" Holly Blue criticized. "Cockiness was the downfall of Icarus" Pearl advised. "Yeah, I don't know who that is" said Holly Blue. "It's just a human myth, an allegory for not getting to overconfident" Pearl explained. "Figures, wild humans would rely on silly little stories to learn common sense" Holly said smugly "such savage beasts, not like the humans I have aboard the zoo, they are well behaved and obedient, and under my careful tutelage are far more intelligent, they could easily overthrow and give order to the wild ones."</p><p>"Pfft! Yeah right, the wild humans on Earth could easily take advantage of your domesticated wussies with little to no effort" Pearl scoffed. "Wussies? What does that mean!?" Holly demanded to know. "It means, they couldn't last one day on Earth, the females would be pregnant within one hour, the males would be deceived easily and talked into something dangerous." "Not <span class="u">my</span> humans, they could easily overtake those savages on Earth" said Holly Blue dismissively. "Oh please, my own son for example, if he were to face the entirety of the humans aboard the zoo, it'd take him one second for him to make them all his bitch!" Pearl shouted. Everybody gasped in shock, nobody, absolutely nobody, not even the people who didn't know her very well, expected Pearl to use such language. "Okay, listen you two, let's stop this debate before it gets ugly" Piers advised.</p><p>"Spoken like a true one quarter of a diamond" Holly agreed. "Say, what do you have against my Dad anyway?" asked Piers. "Well, It's not him specifically I hate, it's the changes he brought, I no longer had the authority I once had" Holly answered "everything just...I don't know...made sense back then." "Believe it or not, I actually know how you feel" Piers commented. "You do?" "Yeah, I am used to adhering to a schedule of my own design, like I have daily rituals that I'm so used to, that if I miss out one doing one of them, it would throw off my whole day" Piers explained "I used to get so bothered by changes in my schedule that I would fixate on it, quite a lot." "Well, what did you do?" asked Holly Blue. "Well, in class one day, I had learned about the works of Charles Darwin and his theory of Natural Selection, where the animal that learns to adapt to change, rather than fight against it, will survive in the long run and eventually change themselves."</p><p>"I think I can understand what you mean, but, look, it's going to take some time before I can truly accept the changes, but what you're saying does make sense, perhaps I can try" said Holly Blue. The posse kept touring down into the catacombs of Homeworld. But little did anyone know, they were being followed by someone...or something. They kept going on for what seemed to be miles, the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of the battle from up above. At every crossroads, Pearl pointed to where they needed to go, eventually they had to enter a long and maze like cavern, luckily for them, Pearl's map had the solution to the maze, so they didn't need to worry about getting lost at least </p><p>Eventually, Piers started to get tired, he had been walking for quite a long time, although his stamina was beyond an ordinary human's, he was still more human than his father was, so his stamina wasn't as good as Steven's. All the gems he was with, including Holly Blue Agate, were courteous about his need to rest a while, he had been awake for more than he usually is. They let him sit down near the most relatively comfortable part of the cavern to get some shut eye. The sound of falling rocks could be heard nearby. All the Rubies looked around, "I'll go check it out" said one of the rubies, this ruby went on backwards around the corner to check out the source of the noise.</p><p>"That was nice of her, but it was probably just debris falling from the battle above" said Pearl. "Hold on a moment, we're inside a cavern, aren't we? How can debris from the battle on the surface fall through here?" asked Holly Blue. Pearl stood silent, as did everyone else, except for Piers, who was still sleeping. Suddenly, the screaming of the ruby who went to inspect the source of the noise could be heard. "You know what, Pearl? I think you were right about the interlopers! Everyone, move!" she commanded, picking up Piers, deciding to carry him the rest of the way. </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Invisible Enemy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As everyone got out of the cave, Pearl threw spears at the exit. "There, that will keep what ever attacked that ruby trapped in that cave" said Pearl. "Well, how are we going to get back with the weapon, huh?" criticized Holly Blue. "Huh? Well, uh..." Pearl stammered. "Just goes to show what happens when we put our trust in an uppity Pearl. "Oh, you wanna start something?" Pearl challenged. "Ever since that day you embarrassed me at The Zoo, I did!" Holly Blue said with a sneer. "Okay, both of you, stop it!" said one of the Rubies accompanying them "now's not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves, honestly, how can you two look down on humans when a human pretty much displayed higher maturity than both of you earlier this mission?" "I don't look down on humans" said Pearl. </p><p>"Oh please, we all heard that smug tone of voice you used when you were describing the humans on Earth" said one of the two accompanying Peridots. "Yes, I heard that too, if-if anyone's wondering" said Holly Blue, trying to save face when she realized she had been told off by a ruby of all gems. "Thanks Peridot" said The Ruby "now, we don't need to worry about finding our way back, during Don Ruby's briefing of the mission, I remember her mentioning that this weapon we're looking for is something that needs to be piloted, meaning it can function as a means of transportation, so we can just ride this thing back when we find it." "I can't believe I forgot about that" said Pearl. "I wasn't listening because it was a ruby giving the orders" Holly Blue commented.</p><p>"Seriously?!" said Piers, waking up "you two are supposed to be the people leading this mission and you didn't hear the important details of it?" Pearl and Holly Blue both blushed. "In any case, Pearl, how far away from the weapon's hanger?" asked one of the two Peridots "we are anxious to get to work and see what Don Ruby has in store there." "Get to work on what?" asked Holly Blue. "Oh wait, I remember this part, the hanger's security is so intricately designed that it requires two Peridots to crack it" Pearl added. </p><p>"Such Interesting information" a mysterious voice said with a slurp. Everyone looked around. "Who's there!?" asked the commanding ruby. </p><hr/><p>Elsewhere on Homeworld, Roselena, a fusion of Rose and her girlfriend Selena was setting up a livestream. "Hello, people of the internet! It's me you're favourite...uh...jeez, what percentage of gem am I...I know Rose is one quarter gem and three quarters human...but am I...oh well, I'm a fusion that's all I know!" Roselena introduced herself "anyway, here I am in the gem Homeworld with a huge climatic battle going on in the background, and I mean it is like crazy, like the final battle in Archduke of the Bracelets: The Monarch Comes Back, or in Revengers: Eternity Conflict! Anyway, here with me is one of the evil Gembusters!" </p><p>"Evil? What? No, I'm not evil, I mean sure, from your perspective but... well, gems, see, they destroyed my race's ancestral home planet, you know?" said the Gembuster soldier they were with that resembled a snake with limbs. "Hmm, true, true, I mean, I did learn about gem history and all that, but, was attacking Earth, which was full of innocent non gem lifeforms who had nothing to do with it really justified?" asked Roselena. "I suppose not, but, you know, I got my orders and everything, the commanding officer tells me where to go and I f]go there" The Gembuster soldier.</p><p>"So, this conflict really isn't all that black and white is it? I mean, some of the gems out here probably didn't have anything to do with the invasion of your race's home planet" Roselena suggested. "Oh yeah, I mean, I get that, and it's not like I haven't considered it, but if I spoke these thoughts of mine out loud, I'm afraid of what might happen to me" said the Gembuster soldier. "It's like that, is it?" Roselena asked, urging him to go on. "Yeah, it's like a combination of wanting to avenge your ancestors and peer pressure" said the Gembuster soldier "say, got anymore of those, dried meat chunks?" "Oh, you mean, jerky? Yeah, I think, we've got one more bag" said Roselena.</p><hr/><p>"You think caving in the exit would keep me away? No, no, no, I got out before you did it" said the voice "I am rather quick and stealthy, that one ruby didn't see me coming, literally." "You're the one who killed 8ZS!?" The commanding Ruby exclaimed. "That's right, I did it, I am a master of stealth, much better than that worthless protoplasm, but that blasted Bloodrose Brigade picked it over me" the voice boasted. "The who?" asked the rubies, Peridot and Holly Blue Agate. "We know what he's talking about, we'll explain later" said Pearl.</p><p>"Everyone, protect the peridots, whatever this thing is, if it gets them, it's over" commanded Holly Blue. "Way to give away our plan" Pearl criticized. "Not now, Pearl, we need to focus on our common enemy" said Holly Blue. "Ha! How can you fight me, if you can't see me?" The voice said. Pearl than jabbed her spear over one of the Peridot's heads. "Gah! How did you...?" asked the voice. "If you're invisible, perhaps try not talking when you're close to us" said Pearl. Just than, Pearl began levitating.</p><p>Everyone didn't need to think twice to guess that whatever this invisible force is, it got pearl, everyone tried hitting whatever it was, after all, considering Pearl was able to hit it, that meant that this creature was merely invisible, not intangible, but this creature seemed to have quick reflexes. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Secret Weapon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Holly Blue Agate, The remaining rubies, the two Peridots and Piers were trying to fend off the invisible entity that had Pearl captured in its grasp. Whatever this thing was, it had good reflexes. "I suppose I have let this came play out long enough, the pearl dies, and the rest of you afterwards" the voice bragged. "Oh no you don't" said Holly Blue, grabbing for Pearl's neck, but got ahold of something invisible, the voice screamed in pain. Pearl than fell to the ground "Th-thanks for the save" said Pearl. "Don't mention it" said Holly Blue.</p><p>"So you saved your friend, big whoop, I'm still invisible, it won't be long before I try to kill her again" the voice said. "You really think so, than you might want to check yourself" said Holly Blue pointing to a red spot dripping into a red puddle. "AAAUGH! You wounded me!" the voice said, suddenly the entity made itself visible, it resembled a chameleon. "So, you think my invisibility was my only asset? Hah!" The Chameleon said spitting in Holly Blue Agate's direction. Holly Blue got out of the way quickly, "You dare spit at me" she said. Suddenly a hissing sound could be heard behind them. Holly Blue looked behind her for a moment, and noticed the rocks pearl used to cave in the exit to the cavern had begun to melt. "Oh, acid spit...well, that certainly will be an asset" Pearl commented. </p><p>The Chameleon kept spitting acid at all the gems and Piers, all of whom were trying to get out of the way of his spit. If his spit were hit any of their gems, it would be game over for them. Even worse for Piers, as his human body makes him an even bigger target. "Come on, you stupid gems, keep still, fighting me is pointless" said The Chameleon. Holly Blue Agate and the Rubies kept on trying to get a hit on him, but he was very nimble, whacking them with his wounded tail, that had a spiked, sword like edge on its tip. Despite the pain this Chameleon like alien was feeling, he soldiered on, like his dedication to the cause of the Gembusters was a driving point. "Is this really the best you got? I wonder how you stupid gems even managed to wipe out my race" The Chameleon laughed. </p><p>The Chameleon than spat a ring all around, Holly Blue, The rubies and Piers, leaving them surrounded by melting ground. "Now I have you trapped, I can't wait to jab the spike at the end of my tail through you're gems" said the Chameleon "as for the organic...I'll take him back to the HQ for being a gem sympathizer." "Uh, you know we can just jump over this, right?" asked Piers. The Chameleon spat another ring of acid spit around them, and then another, and then another. "Watch your step, my venom can remain corrosive for about five hours, and my species is the only one immune to it" The Chameleon said "now...hold on, weren't there two Peridots and a pearl with you?"</p><p>Suddenly the ground started shaking. "What is this?" asked the chameleon.</p><hr/><p>Back at the surface, Roselena and the snake Gembuster soldier were continuing their livestream. Suddenly, Steven had emerged within the building in which the livestream was going on. "Uh, what's going on here?" asked Steven. "Oh, hi half-dad! I'm just interviewing this Gembuster soldier, I mean we were fighting, but I soon learned, he's actually a really cool guy" said Roselena. "Hey, you're not bad, yourself, I mean, you sure convinced me that gems were changed" said the snakelike Gembuster solider "I mean, to be honest, I only hated gems because I was told to, a lot of us were, most gem busters are merely descendants of the ones who survived the colonization of their home planets."</p><p>Suddenly, another interruption came in the building. It was a horde of Gembuster soldier. "So, Slythar, fraternizing with the enemy, eh?" said The one in command. "Ah! Sir! Wait, you don't understand" said The snake gem buster. Steven summoned up a huge shield "Stay back" Steven said to the Gembusters, pushing them out of the building with his shield. The Gembuster soldiers began surrounding Steven, of course Steven managed to push them back with his bubble. Roselena joined the fray helping fend off the soldiers. "You fight just like your mother!" Steven complimented his daughter's fusion. Steven and Roselena kept fending off Gembuster soldiers, but the onslaught of them was proving to be too much for them, when all of the sudden a huge shadow was cast over them.</p><p>The silhouette resembled White Diamond, no, it resembled the diamond ships when assembled, only this one was much smaller than that, but as large as White Diamond. The mech kicked the horde of Gembuster soldiers away.</p><p>Meanwhile, The Diamonds were watching the whole war from holographic panels emitted by Carbon's drones, the footage was also being gathered by Carbon's drones. The huge mech that appeared to save Steven and Roselena appeared on the viewer. "Oh yeah! They found it!" said Don Ruby. "<span class="u">That's</span> your secret weapon?" Yellow exclaimed. "This is another one of my worse case scenario weapons, based off of blueprints of your ships, Metal Diamond!" Don Ruby said with delight.</p><p>"You minimized the design of our ships? Incredible" Yellow Diamond commented. "Well, that was my associate, Dr. Bismuth who did all the hard work of designing...and building it, but it was my idea" said Don Ruby. "Well, at least it's a tasteful likeness of me" said White Diamond. The footage onscreen showed tank like weapons approached Metal Diamond from behind, but on the buttock region of the machine, a cannon came out blasting the tank-like weapons to bits. "Aaaaand there goes the tastefulness" White commented. </p><p>Meanwhile in the cockpit, Pearl sat at the controls, alongside the two peridots, Piers and the rubies. "Thanks for the save Auntie Pearl, for a second there, we were nearly goners back there" said Piers. "We didn't even see you leave, that was a very gutsy move back there, we could have been finished" Holly Blue added. "Well I knew the hanger was close by and since we outnumbered our enemy, I knew it wouldn't be that hard to distract it" said Pearl "now, let's go win this battle!" </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Battle plan 2: Recapture Critical Outposts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been 24 hours since the Battle For Homeworld had begun, Don Ruby and Steven had taken charge, with Steven commanding the frontlines and Don Ruby as the chief tactician. As the Diamonds would prove to be huge targets, both figuratively and literally, The Don had thought it best to keep them inside the palace. Pearl, Holly Blue Agate, Piers Universe, five rubies and two Peridots were sent to fetch a secret weapon of the Homeworld Underground, Metal Diamond. Pearl and Holly Blue Agate were at each other's throats for the mission, due to an incident at the Zoo from around 26 years ago. However, an invisible for pursued them.</p><p>The party mostly traveled to the hidden hanger of metal diamond not noticing the invisible foe, lurking in plain sight. However, Piers, being mostly human and only one quarter gem, had succumbed to fatigue from travelling such a long way for such a long time, even though he had a higher stamina than olympic level athletes, it still had its limits, so the rest of the party allowed him a momentary rest. However, it was then that one of the rubies in the party noticed something suspicious and went to inspect it. However, it was a trap and the poor ruby was shattered.</p><p>Hearing the ruby's scream, The group took Piers and ran out the resting place, Pearl caved in the exit from the cave they were resting in. The invisible foe however had escaped and attacked Pearl, the party had struggled to get Pearl out of the invisible foe's grasp. Holly Blue however, did miraculously manage to wound the foe, and thus ruining the invisibility. The foe turned out to be a chameleon like Gembuster soldier with the ability to camouflage, of course the wound that had been inflicted upon him had ruined his camouflaging ability, as the blood would give away his position.</p><p>However, this foe had another weapon on hand, acid spit! The party nimbly dodged the foe's attacks trying to fight it, but its nimble movements proved to be a challenge. Sensing that the hanger was nearby, Pearl led the two peridots to its entrance while Holly Blue, Piers and the rubies continued the fight, Pearl hoped they could last until they could get it open and grab the weapon. The battle had proved to be tough for Piers the rubies and Holly Blue Agate, but just as it seemed they were cornered, a huge screw door opened up from the ground as Metal Diamond rose from the ground, being piloted by Pearl and the two Peridots, it quickly dispatched the foe and let Piers, Holly Blue Agate and the rubies aboard and took Metal Diamond to the battlefield to help turn back the Gembuster army.</p><p>Meanwhile, Don Ruby had sent a party lead by Garnet, Peridot, Amethyst, Spinel and The Bloodrose Brigade to recapture a critical building from the Gembusters, this building, housed a lot of  decommissioned weapons, starships, etc. from Homeworld's military, she hoped it wasn't too late and that they didn't find any of it yet, Yellow Diamond did say they were put away securely under lock and key after Spinel's little "upset" on Earth. Nevertheless, Don Ruby had sent them out to secure the facility, they couldn't have any unnecessary risks. And so, the recapturing squad was dispatched. As they traveled Spinel decided to bring up some chit chat to make the travels go by easier </p><p>"Hey, Mr. Bloodrose Guy" Spinel called. "That's Captain, Captain Bloodrose" Robyne told Spinel. "Whatever, anyway, what's with the arm? It's cool!" she asked. "This is a machine meant to replace my old one" Captain Bloodrose explained. "What happened to your old one?" Spinel asked. "Ripped off" Bloodrose answered. "What, did you bet it in a game and the guy you were playing against cheated?" Spinel guessed. "I meant that literally" said Bloodrose. "Wow, that sounds like it hurts" said Spinel. Of course, because he had his helmet on, Spinel had no idea that Captain Bloodrose was secretly Steven from an alternate timeline, and Captain Bloodrose knew who Spinel was but had never met her before, but he decided to spare her feelings and not tell her that it was his timeline's White Diamond that had ripped off his arm as punishment for upsetting his timeline's Blue Diamond.</p><p>"So, Mr. Big Creepy Bug Monster, what about you?" asked Spinel. "My Name is...Tho'rax!" said Tho'rax striking a pose. "Wow, you got lot's of muscles" said Spinel. "Indeed, I was born this way, I am a soldier, bred for battle" said  Tho'rax "My former queen needed soldiers, she laid eggs containing them, I hatched from one." Tho'rax detected that Spinel was a bit confused by what he had just said. "On what was once my home planet, there were several queens, all with their colony, each queen creates hatchlings for different purposes, I am a soldier, made to attack another colony or defend my queen's colony" he continued. "Sounds like your race isn't that much difference from gems, I mean, different lifeforms being made for different purposes, doesn't sound different from the old caste system" said Peridot.</p><p>"Indeed, we were all made to serve our queens, my people, I however, was different, I was born from a royal egg" said Tho'rax. "Royal, egg? What does that mean?" Amethyst asked. "Sometimes a queen hatches an egg that contains a special larva that will eventually evolve into a queen, regardless of the intent for its birth, this is why my queen had ordered me into a state of suspended animation when our planet was colonized, so that one day, when the royal cells activate upon 200 years of age, I can bring my race back from it's current status where I am the Endling" said Tho'rax. "You're going to be a queen!? But I thought you were a male, isn't queen a feminine title?" asked Peridot.</p><p>"In my race all non-queens answer to "he" and I shall answer to it until I fully mature as a queen, "she" is reserved for queens" said Tho'rax. "Stop! We're here" said Garnet. The group looked and saw their target, a whole bunch of Gembuster soldiers were standing guard, a couple of particularly large ones were trying to unlock the front door but to no avail. "Robyne, Junior, can you do a flyover without being seen?" asked Captain Bloodrose. "Who do you think you're talking to? Of course we can" said Robyne. "You can count on us, Cap'n Dad!" Junior added. "For this mission to work, we're going to need stealth" said Peridot. "Leave that to me" said Plasm, morphing into an odd humanoid deer like lifeform in a Gembuster uniform. "Wow, you're a miracle cure for the Amber virus and you can transform into things? what can't you do?" Spinel complimented. "I can't be in my true form if I'm standing in water or on any surface with holes in it" Plasm said "hey Amethyst, you come too, just imagine an out there creature in a Gembuster uniform and take that form."</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Infiltration</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Plasm ands Amethyst, in their disguised forms went up to the group of Gembusters trying to break into the vault of decommissioned weaponry and starships. "How do you do, fellow busters" said the disguised Plasm. "Not good" said a Gembuster that resembled Cthulhu "those downright dirty gems have pretty good security for their valuables, think you can help us?" "Sure, because that's what Gembuster does, right? Helping their fellow busters" said disguised Amethyst. The Gembuster examined Amethyst. "Say, I don't remember you...and why do you have a gemstone on your chest, and why is your uniform purple?" It asked. "Err...that's because...the laundry screwed it up, and...as for the Gemstone, cut it off an Amethyst who's gem I split in half, thought it'd make for a great decoration" Amethyst lied. "Oh, is that so? Good for you! Sorry about what happened to your uniform, but it's good to see a dedicated buster, why not help us try and get this door open?" The Gembuster soldier said.</p><p>Garnet, Peridot, Tho'rax, Spinel and Bloodrose Steven all watched as Amethyst breathed a sigh of relief and kept up the charade. "Good, now while Amethyst and Plasm keep those guys distracted, we can sneak out back to the real vault entrance" said Bloodrose Steven "just as soon as Junior and Robyne return." As if on cue, Junior and Robyne landed right behind them, being careful not to be spotted. "Nobody at the back entrance, Captain" said Robyne. "Good, now, Tho'rax and I will lead the way to the back, I can use my future vision and he can use his senses to detect any threats" said Garnet. "A logical plan, Garnet, everyone, remain silent as we make our way there" said Peridot.</p><p>The group kept watch at Amethyst and Plasm's distraction, which seemed to be going smoothly, they kept sneaking past where they could possibly be viewed in plain sight. Spinel kept watch at the rear, making sure nobody followed them. The tension was high, keeping an eye out for any Gembusters on patrol, it didn't help that the vault building was huge, nonetheless they had to storm on, if the vault was filled with things that they could put to good use, they had to go to the true entrance, and activate the deactivated warp panel in there, so the devices and starships could easily be transported to the palace, and also use the weapons to scare away the Gembusters and use the building as a scapegoat once all the weapons and ships were cleared from the facility.</p><hr/><p>Meanwhile, Don Ruby and the Diamonds kept watching the battle unfold, seeing Metal Diamond take on, horde after horde of Gembuster soldiers. "Aaaand, a huge Gembuster thinks they can take on Metal Diamond from behind, but her superpowered posterior shows them that she's no pushover, and yikes here come some ships to attack Metal Diamond, but Metal Diamond is prepared for that too" Don Ruby commentated. "What are you doing?" asked Yellow. "I've been watching a lot of televised sports on TV back on Earth" said Don Ruby "I figured some entertainment might be in order, we're in here for a long time."</p><p>"I appreciate the sentiment, but we're in a war, not a sporting event, this is serious" said Yellow Diamond. "Hey, come on, with my amazing battle plans, there's no way we can lose, Homeworld's army is the guaranteed winning team, so we might as well root for them" said Don Ruby "besides I have full confidence in the team we sent to The Vault, can't wait to see what kind of goodies you three stored in there." "That ruby may have a point, sometimes it's good to have a little optimism even in the worst in times" said Carbon "but remember this, Ruby, pride often comes before a fall." "Yeah, I guess you're right, that was how I got captured, but don't worry, we will win" said Don Ruby "but just in case you're right..." Don Ruby took out a personal communicator.  </p><p>Meanwhile on Earth in Don Ruby's Club, Jasper was mopping the floors under Underground Pearl's orders. Snap! "Uh, Pearl, I killed the mop" said Jasper. "Broke, you broke the mop"  Underground Pearl corrected her. "I...broke her" said Jasper. Suddenly there was a beeping. Dr. Bismuth panicked slightly "It's the boss's direct line!" she said. Underground Pearl pouted. "Aren't you going to answer it?" asked Jasper. "Why? So that two timer can brag about how much she's having with that overgrown hussy!?" Underground Pearl grumbled like a jealous girlfriend. "Hey, that "hussy" is Blue Diamond, be more respectful" Jasper reminded her. Underground Pearl answered with her signature "Death Glare", Jasper knew when to shut up when she saw that look. Jasper couldn't figure it out, but that Pearl of all things was able to instantly overpower her. </p><p>Dr. Bismuth decided to answer it. "Hey, everybody, we've got a problem on Homeworld, Dem Gembusters have found it, we's has the upper hand so far up here, but just in case we need all hands on deck up here" said Don Ruby onscreen.</p><hr/><p>Soon, Garnet, Spinel, Peridot, Bloodrose Steven, Tho'rax, Robyne and Junior had reached the back. Peridot entered the combination to the vault, opening a small door. Garnet grabbed Bloodrose Steven's shoulder "Ste-I mean Captain Bloodrose" said Garnet, remembering Spinel didn't know Bloodrose Steven's true identity "there's something important I need to tell you for after all this is over." she beckoned him closer and whispered something to him. "What? Really? One of the ships in here can do that...? But why would I want to?" he asked. "Trust me, you'll want to" said Garnet "I can't say why though, you'll have to figure it out on your own, just remember the coordinates I told you." </p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Battle In The Vault</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The gems and the Bloodrose Brigade entered the vault. Everyone was amazed by how full the vault was, there were various ships and weapons abound. Peridot pressed a few buttons on her wrist communicator. "Don Ruby, we're in, we're ready to transport the weapons upon your command" she announced. "Ah, good ta hear dat, according to Yellow Diamond there should be about seven floors in this vault, each one of you is going to take the experimental warp blasters that you all should be equipped with down to each floor and blast away at everything stored in there" Don Ruby commanded "the coordinates have already been calibrated to the Palace so no need to worry, but hurry quick, I got a report from Steven on the frontlines, they need supplies and weapons, stat! Metal Diamond may be powerful, but even that weapon needs backup." </p><p>"You all heard that right? let's get to it!" said Peridot. Everyone got to work, using the experimental warp blasters, they warped everything in sight, starships, weapons, various devices of unknown use or purpose. To make the job quicker, since there were currently seven of them, the group agreed to split up and have one person cover an entire floor, which was actually more work than it sounded, as each floor was filled to the brim, the lower floors were more crammed full than the one above each one, and Tho'rax was working on the bottom floor which looked like something out of an episode of Hoarders, but on a bigger, grander scale, but nonetheless he pulled through it. </p><p>The big door was making a huge slamming sound. Peridot opened a comm link to everyone's communicator "You better start working faster, everybody, I think the Gembusters might be close to opening the bigger door out front. "Understood, almost done, Peridot" said Garnet. "Same here" said Captain Bloodrose. "I'm pretty much cleaning up down here" said Robyne. "No worries down here, what about you Tho'rax?" Junior asked Tho'rax "Tho'rax." "I...I have been done for...the...past hour" Tho'rax said, struggling. "Tho'rax, is everything okay down there? You sound like you've been wounded old friend." said Bloodrose Steven. "I haven't told you, but It's coming, the change is nearly upon me" Tho'rax said.</p><p>"The change...wait, you mean, that thing you told us about earlier?" Robyne asked. "Indeed, the very same, I knew the time was neigh, which is why I told you about it" Tho'rax said "so that when the time came, you wouldn't worry, soon, I shall emerge a queen, but first, I must become a cocoon. Forgive me comrades, for...I must...resign myself down here...for the metamorphosis." "But the Gembusters are about to break through, they'll harm you if they find you" Peridot warned. "Don't worry about it, Peridot, you Garnet, Amethyst, and Spinel can go back, we'll stay with our friend" said Bloodrose Steven. "The captain's right, rule five of the Bloodrose Brigade: Serve as a shield for one another" Robyne added.</p><p>"We can't let you do that alone, we'll help" Garnet offered. "That's right, I wanna help too, Bloodrose, I may not be the version of me who transgressed you in your timeline, but I want to make up for it anyway" Peridot added. "Count me in too, I wanna kick some Gembuster butt" said Spinel. The comm-link ended and everyone besides Tho'rax gathered at the top floor, awaiting the Gembusters to break through. "So, if you guys are going to help us protect our friend, you all must come up with a dynamic action pose" Bloodrose Steven instructed. The gems responded with silence "Um, why?" asked Spinel. "Well, helping us means you are honorary Bloodrose Brigade members, and that means you follow our first and most important rule: All Bloodrose Brigade members must strike fear into the hearts of our enemies with a bold and dynamic action pose!" </p><p>"...Well, I guess we'll try" said Peridot. "We're not actually going to do this, are we?" asked Spinel. "Just grit your teeth and bare it" Garnet advised "no matter how cringey it is." A huge slam interrupted them, and than another and than another, until a huge dent formed in it, and the door fell down. There was the horde of Gembusters. "Hey, where are the weapons!?" one asked. "You!" said the Cthulhu lookalike Gembuster "Where did you put the weapons, Gem scum!" "We're not letting you have em!" said Spinel, lying in order to make the Gembusters believe that the weapons and ships were somewhere in the facility. "That's right, we are not letting you get your hands on them" Captain Bloodrose said, striking a heroic pose.</p><p>"No way, is that...?" said One Gembuster. "It's Captain Bloodrose and the Bloodrose Brigade, I'd heard they'd gone rogue" The Cthulhu Gembuster said. Garnet, Amethyst, Spinel, Bloodrose Steven, Robyne and Junior all struck a battle pose. "That's right, we are the Bloodrose Brigade, plus three" said Bloodrose Steven. Suddenly one Gembuster ran past the horde and melted into a purple blob, Plasm. And a purple Gembuster soldier came in and turned back into Amethyst. "And we had spies among us too!? Oh, that's just great" The Cthulhu lookalike complained "attack!"</p><p>And thus a battle in the vault had begun, With Garnet using her fists to pummel whatever Gembuster came her way. Spinel was nimbly dodging all attacks that came in her way, using her unique stretchiness to her advantage the same way she overpowered Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl back when she tried to attack the Earth. Garnet and Amethyst couldn't help but feel a little relieved that Spinel was on their side this time around. Amethyst was using a combination of both her whip and her spin dash technique. Captain Bloodrose was busy showing his former comrades that despite being a rogue Gembuster, he still was not to be trifled with, Plasm was copying his foes to confuse them. Robyne and Junior were using their aerial maneuverability techniques to attack their foes from above, luckily the building had a high enough ceiling to allow it. However our heroes paused when they heard Peridot's scream!</p><p>The Cthulhu like Gembuster held up Peridots gem. "If you don't want your little green friend shattered, nobody moves and she won't get heart, all you need to do is tell me where the weapons are" he said. Garnet,  Spinel, Amethyst, Robyne, Junior and Bloodrose Steven all paused, even though when he first set his eyes on her, we wanted nothing more to shatter her, but ever since learning he was in a timeline different from his own, the situation had become different. "Fine...we already transported the weapons to the Diamond palace" said Bloodrose Steven. "I don't believe you" The Gembuster said, holding his weapon closer to Peridot's gem. "B-but we're telling the truth, everything's in the palace as we speak!" Spinel explained.</p><p>"Maybe I'm off my hinges, but I believe you, even so, I'm going to kill her anyway, simply for being a gem" He said as he held the weapon closer to her gem, but before his weapon could make contact, something struck him on the back and swiftly grabbed Peridot's gem. To everyone's surprise...It was Tho'rax! "What!? I thought you were in the middle of metamorphosis!" said Bloodrose Steven. "Tho'rax" shook his head and pointed to the stair case as another lifeform climbed up the steps, and another and another, all of whom resembled Tho'rax. "Soldiers were needed and so our queen ordered us here and to protect her comrades" said one of the Tho'rax clones. "Wait...does that mean...?" Bloodrose Steven asked. </p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. A Queen Ascends But The Tables Turn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So what if they have more reinforcements? Get them!" Commanded a Gembuster. All the Gembusters approached Tho'rax's offspring, but they took after the queen that bred them and inherited Tho'rax's fighting style. Each one using their senses to dodge all attacks and striking back at the same time. Spinel cheered for them all, as did Amethyst. Some of the Gembusters began retreating. "Where are you going? Come back here you cowards!" said the Cthulhu lookalike. Suddenly a rumbling could be heard from beneath them. </p><p>A huge bug like creature emerged from the floor below, the colour was familiar, one a few of its limbs were the remnants of Tho'rax's Bloodrose Brigade uniform. "Your majesty" said all of Tho'rax's offspring. "No way, Tho'rax, is that really you?" asked Plasm. This gigantic insectoid creature did indeed resemble Tho'rax, but much larger with extra limbs, and somewhat fatter and yet it retained a rather regal and elegant presence. "Yes indeed, it is I, forgive my lateness" said Tho'rax but in a different sounding voice, it had a slightly higher tone to his or rather her former voice but it was familiar enough to be recognizable. "Hold on, I thought the metamorphosis would have taken longer" said Bloodrose Steven. </p><p>"Indeed, so to have I thought that as well" said Tho'rax "but regardless, during the transformation my body was very vulnerable and significantly weaker, not even the cocoon would have been enough to protect me, most would be queens do not survive the metamorphosis because, it is critical to make sure to find a safe space for the change to occur before it's too late." "Well, we're glad you're okay" said Junior "and your kids sure grew up fast, we might need you to produce more for the war." "Unfortunately these one hundred are as much as I can produce right now, to make more I will require much food, and even so, only the first one hundred eggs laid by a queen will have adults emerge from them to ensure a strong beginning to a hive, all hatchlings hereafter will have no choice but to go through the larval and pupil stages that the first generation got to skip, so these 100 will have to do."</p><p>"But do not worry, as we, The Hive of Tho'rax will serve to the best of our abilities" said one of Tho'rax's offspring. </p><hr/><p>Meanwhile on the battlefield Steven and Connie had fused into Stevonnie as Connie had sprained her ankle, Steven not having the time to use his healing powers in the midst of battle as there was no safe place to administer his healing kiss to go to where they won't be interrupted by Gembusters. Luckily as they were Stevonnie, Steven's supercharged healing factor that he inherited from his gem half kicked in and healed the Connie half's sprain. Not wanting to unfuse in this situation, Stevonnie kicked into action, taking on enemy after enemy.</p><p>Roselena kept up with the fusion of her Rose half's parents. Her plucky attitude had a positive effect on her will to fight, keeping her newfound Gembuster friend safe, as it has been accused of becoming gem sympathizer by its fellow Gembusters. Metal Diamond was still a virtually unstoppable force on the battlefield, using its entire arsenal on its foes.</p><p>At the command room of the Gembuster HQ, The Prospector examined the battle. "Sir! Their giant robot is causing problems, what are your orders Prospector!?" asked one of the troops on the ground. "Send our armada after them then!? What's the point in having one if we're not going to use it!?" The Prospector shouted. "But sir, this is one enemy" The foot soldier argued. "One enemy that currently has the advantage answer its power with power, you moron!" The Prospector shouted "I guess if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself!" </p><p>Back on the battlefield, Stevonnie was starting to feel the fatigue that Steven and Connie had already felt on the frontlines, they thought they were done for, but suddenly, they saw what appeared to be Tho'rax, but there were also dozens of him, each one getting each enemy that was surrounding Stevonnie, they breathed a sigh of relief, they had no idea what was going on but they were glad it was going on. They soon spotted Garnet, Amethyst, Spinel, Bloodrose Steven, Junior, Robyne, and Plasm, all of whom joined the fray.</p><p>Back at the palace, various gems were gathering weapons for the battle, and flying ships to take on the armada. "See, what did I tell ya? I had this battle all figured out" said Don Ruby. But suddenly on screen, they saw the Gembuster HQ depending towards Metal Diamond, and the pilots inside were unaware of the incoming target, but they soon caught notice of the shadow, but it was too late. The Gembuster HQ blasted lasers at Metal Diamond, causing it to explode. The small silhouette of Piers was seen falling out of the cockpit in a bubble. "NO! Not Metal Diamond! NOOO!" Don Ruby cried out in dismay.</p><p>Stevonnie and Roselena noticed what had transpired, they both leapt into action, Stevonnie to save their son, and Rose gathering the various falling gemstones. "Are you alright, Piers?" asked Stevonnie. "Rose..?" asked Piers. "Oh that's right, you too little to remember us the last time you saw us" said Stevonnie "I'm actually...your parents." "You mean like my mom and dad fused?" asked Piers. "Yeah, but forget that, let's get you somewhere safe young man, you need rest after surviving an explosion like that" Stevonnie advised, rushing back towards the palace. The Gembuster HQ, however began blasting every which way. </p><p>Making their way back to the Palace, was Joshua Pearl and Margaret. "Where are we going?" asked Margaret. "I'm going to get a ship to fly to that big hideout, I just heard the new resources were sent in, I know he's your dad, but I still got a score to settle with that Prospector guy" Joshua explained. "No, he's not my daddy, not anymore, I've got a new one, a better one" said Margaret, giving her adoptive father a hug "just come back safe, please, I wanna go, but I'm too scared." </p><p>The battle's tide had changed in favour of the Gembusters it would seem, but Don Ruby had made calls in for backup, but will they make it in time? White Diamond also was pondering something, could it be she has a plan of her own? </p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The Gembusters Comeback!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>With the Gembuster HQ entering the fray, it was needless to say the tides of battle turned in favour of the Gembusters, the Gembuster HQ was a patchwork sort of space-station built out of destroyed Gem ships that were combined into one. Its nerve centre, where The Prospector was piloting it from, was actually the first gem ship he ever highjacked, and so he knew all the controls by memory, but never before had he used all the weapons systems that were added on to the ship as the Gembuster HQ expanded into what it is now over the course of millennia. </p><p>Knowing that the Gembuster HQ would be a threat, every gem who was able got onto one of the ships taken out of storage to go for the biggest threat in the skies, but The Gembuster armada was surrounding the HQ to protect it, The Prospector knew what he was doing when he sent the HQ into battle. All gem piloted ships now had to balance getting to the main target while at the same time taking out ships from the Gembuster armada, and even if the gem ships could get past the armada, they still had to deal with he defence systems of the HQ.</p><p>Joshua was one of the pilots of the gem ships trying to get to the Gembuster HQ, this whole scenario was like something out of one of the movies he had seen growing up as a kid, Space Wars Episode 4: A Revived Hope. More specifically it reminded him of the climatic space battle at the Doom Moon, dodging enemy ships as well as the targets defence systems. Something was different however the defence systems weren't just blasting down Gem ships but other Gembuster ships as well in order to get to the gem ships. Inside The Prospector's Command room, a comm channel opened up with a Gembuster pilot. "Sir! Careful, you're firing at us" the pilot cautioned. "Well, maybe you should all not be in the line of fire!" The Prospector shouted back. "Sir?" "Friendly fire is a part of war, their sacrifice will be honoured when we win, now get back to work!" </p><p>"Why da hell are they firin' at dere own guys?" Joshua thought, as he kept flying through the armada, firing at any target that got in his way. As the battle continued, the Gembuster HQ was moving, slowly but surely to the Diamond Palace. </p><hr/><p>Meanwhile on Earth, Lapis flew to a farm, where <span class="u">she</span> was. Lapis noticed her former master, Blonde Lapis herding cattle back from the grazing pasture. She looked up at Lapis, who gave her an awkward wave, fluttering down. "Oh, Lapis, it has been a while" said Blonde Lapis, giving one of the cows a pat on the head. "Hi, look, I just wanted to apologize for last time, I sort of lost my temper, back there" said Lapis apologetically. "I too lost my temper as well" said Blonde Lapis "It's been a while since I last got mad, almost made me relapse to alcoholism." "Alcoholism? But you're a gem, how do you get drunk?" Lapis asked.</p><p>"Simple, made myself a makeshift brain, I remember many years ago before I met Bob, I could outdrink twenty lumberjacks, ah I miss those old drinking buddies of mine" Blonde Lapis said, remembering her time up in the Great North fondly. Lapis said nothing. "There's an ulterior motive for coming here, isn't there?" asked Blonde Lapis. "...Yes, there is. I got a call from Peridot, The Gembusters found Homeworld, and there's an all out war now" Lapis answered "I know I'm in no place to be asking you of anything but they could use the "Storm Goddess's" help on Homeworld." "I'm afraid I can't, I have too many bad memories on Homeworld, my days as the Storm Goddess are over now, I'm just a plain old first generation Lapis Lazuli with a family" Blonde Lapis refused. "Is there anyway I can change your mind?" asked Lapis.</p><p>"Lapis, there is something I had neglected to tell you, you did manage to move that one molecule, If you sharpen your mind, you can control many, you don't need me anymore, Homeworld doesn't need me anymore" said Blonde Lapis "now if you'll excuse me, I must return the cattle to their barn." </p><hr/><p>Back at the Palace, Dr. Bismuth, Bismuth, Underground Pearl, Don Ruby's Topazes, Fishtail Quartz and Jasper showed up. "We showed up as fast as we can, boss" said one of The Don's Topazes. A huge tremor caused the palace to shake. "AAAAH! We're doomed! DOOOMED!" Dr. Bismuth panicked. Don Ruby grabbed Dr. Bismuth by the collar of her lab coat and pulled her down to her eye level and began slapping Dr. Bismuth repeatedly on both cheeks "Get ahold of yourself, Doc. we needs ya smarts here!" Don Ruby commanded.</p><p>"Oh-O-okay!" said Dr. Bismuth, regaining her composure, what little there was of it. "Now, some these stockpiled weapons are out of order, think ya can patch em up?" Don Ruby asked. "I don't think I can, I know I can, I invented the prototype to some of these" Dr. Bismuth bragged. "Good, now, get to wok" said Don Ruby. "Oh, Don Ruby? A word for a moment" White Diamond called. "Ay, WD, what seem ta be da problemo?" Don Ruby answered. "In my room, I have a few secret project's I've been working on, I was hoping you and some of your...associates can come and get them for me" White explained. "I'm listening" Don Ruby replied.</p><p>Meanwhile out on the battle field, that enormous tremor was the result of he Gembuster HQ growing "legs" and slamming against the ground, going into some sort of land travel mode, crawling like a round spider towards the Gem Palace, with lasers shooting every which way, destroying even Gembusters who were on its side. Everyone on the battlefield, gem and gembuster alike began running for cover. Inside the command centre, Llesh watched in horror, as his leader, as his old friend was carelessly allowing his own army to be trampled by the Gembuster HQ just for the sake of his obsession for revenge, even though Llesh himself was not fond of gem kind destroying his home and desired revenge himself, it was never to this extent, not to the extent of allies being trampled on the way.</p><p>Suddenly storm clouds began forming over the sky, and multiple lightening bolts struck the Gembuster HQ one after another until the Gembuster HQ suddenly stopped moving and froze in place. Peridot looked up at the eye of the storm and recognized the silhouette of Lapis. Peridot picked up her communicator and called Lapis "Lapis, you didn't tell me you could do that!" "It's a long story" Lapis answered. </p><p>With the Gembuster HQ currently in the midst of a power surge, Joshua took advantage of it and flew straight for it and flew in the open entrances into the ship. "This will not do, activate the auxiliary power" The Prospector commanded one of his Pearls. With that, there wasn't enough but there was a little power to fire the biggest weapon. The Prospector wasted no time pressing the button and fired a huge white laser in the direction of the Diamond Palace, the Palace's front wall was obliterated by that short but very powerful blast, leaving Homeworld's main base of operations and of course the diamonds themselves completely exposed.</p><p>It would seem that all is lost...</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. White Diamond's Secret Plan</h2></a>
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    <p>For a moment the world had turned silent for all gems on the battlefield, as the huge blast from the disabled Gembuster HQ destroyed the front of the palace, leaving the diamonds fully exposed to attack, and of course the Gembusters made no hesitation to advance towards the palace. The ships were taking the lead on the attack, moving quicker than the ground troops, whom the gem army was struggling to hold back. Stevonnie had summoned a giant shield to keep some of the Gembuster troop at bay, and so did Roselena, but because she was less gem than her parents' fusion her shield was not as well detailed or designed, sort of at a half moon shape. "Aw, how come yours is bigger than mine?" Roselena lamented. "Not the time, dear" Stevonnie retorted. </p><p>Gem pilots were doing all they could to hold back the Gembuster pilots as the stakes were now higher than they were already. The frontline of Homeworld was doing all it could to hold back the Gembuster army, but they were slowly being dragged back into a corner, closer and closer to the palace. Piers was in the palace recovering from exhaustion and the minor injuries sustained in Metal Diamonds explosion. He got up, but didn't have enough energy to stay up. "Get back down soldier, you're in no condition to be fighting" The newly reformed Holly Blue Agate advised "You did a good job saving our gems before they could sustain any damage, but you're no good to be fighting in this condition, rest now." "But, my mom, my dad, my sister and even her girlfriend are out there, I, I've got to..." Piers struggled. "I admire your dedication kid, but let me do the fighting from now on, focus on your recovery first, then you can join us" Holly Blue reiterated. </p><p>Pearl, took out some bottled water from her head and gave It to Piers "Here, remember to stay hydrated, your body is 60% water so it's important to keep up your fluid intake." "Thanks Aunt Pearl" said Piers, accepting the water. "Let's go out there and show these Gembusters what we're made of!" said Holly Blue. Pearl and the rubies cheered and charged off into the fray. "Hey, White Diamond, I found what yer looking for, but I don't know what a bunch of plants and documents are gonna do now" said Don Ruby. "I know, but trust me on this, this might just be what stops this battle" said White Diamond. </p><p>Homeworld's frontline was pushed all the way back the diamond palace entrance, even with powerhouses like Jasper on the battlefield, the situation seemed hopeless. Homeworld's pilots, as good as they were, were not doing so well in comparison of the overwhelming forces of the Gembuster Armada. To make matters even worse, the Gembuster HQ reactivated, apparently Lapis's lightening didn't permanently disable the mobile HQ which began moving towards the palace. </p><p>Then suddenly to everyone's surprise, White Diamond began to exit the palace, stepping over some of the gems in the frontlines, while the rest of the frontline stood aside in shock, some gems were trying to stop her, but White Diamond was undeterred, Yellow and Blue came out following her, trying to persuade her to come back inside, but White Diamond was undeterred. Even the Gembuster army themselves were taken aback by White Diamond's sudden appearance, The Gembuster HQ halted its advance, as The Prospector was curious to see what would happen.  Inside the Palace, Blue and Yellow Diamond's former Pearls were activating the broadcasting equipment. Suddenly huge holo panels began popping up all over the planet. As soon as they appeared, the fighting stopped all over the planet, a temporary ceasefire. </p><p>White Diamond's face appeared on all holo panels as she cleared her throat and began speaking</p><p>"Gembuster invaders, I know why you have all come, to seek revenge, your desire is natural, me and my gems came to all of your respective planets without warning and begun secret operations to drain your planets of all their nutrients in order to make more gems and in the process your homes were all taken from you and your ancestors, and I was not ignorant to the plight I had caused, instead, I was merely apathetic and didn't fully understand the harm I had been causing your ancestors, but something happened two decades ago, the hybrid offspring of Pink Diamond, whom despite everything me and my fellow diamonds put him through, showed me the error of my ways and slowly learned to embrace letting people be whoever they are...but that is no excuse for what I have done for so many millennia, which is why I now stand before you, to not only answer for my crimes, but to apologize for them. Yes, It was I and my gems who harmed your planets and I'm sorry, sorry for all I have put your ancestors and by extension yourselves"</p><p>White Diamond then snapped her fingers and images, schematics written documents, calculations and blueprints all started showing up on all holo panels all across the planet.</p><p>"These are plans for a project I had been setting up with the finest minds on Homeworld, we believe we may have found a way to undo what had been done to your planets, to make them habitable once more, the process will take a very long time, but life will flourish once more eventually. I know this will not make up for what I have done, so please at least leave all other gems alone, they were all acting under my orders, I am the cause of all of this, if you must have revenge, enact it upon me!" White pleaded. </p><p>Silence filled the air, nothing, not a sound could be heard. It was so silent one could hear a pin drop from the other side of the planet. In his command centre, The Prospector laughed maniacally. "Well, go on boys and girls, she invited you to kill her, no need to RSVP just have at it and then kill everyone else" he said on a comm link to all troops. No answer. Instead what happened was unexpected, "Hey, the math here checks out, and the blueprints and all the research files, this could work" one Gembuster was heard saying, others were nodding in agreement a huge chorus of murmuring, discussing White Diamond's plans to revive colonized planets seemed to have struck a chord with them all. The sound of weapons dropping filled the air, and Gembuster ships began to descend slowly. </p><p>"What!? No, no, NO! What are you all doing, pick back up your weapons and kill her, kill them all!" The Prospector said, throwing a tantrum "Fine, if you won't, I will GHKKK!" The Prospector coughed up blood suddenly, he looked down and noticed he tip of a spear protruding through his chest. He looked behind him and saw Llesh holding the other end of the spear "They will not listen to a leader who would kill his own troops to win a war, instead they choose to listen to a leader who was offering herself as a sacrifice to stop the war altogether" Llesh scolded "it's partly my fault you wound up this way, you consoled me when I was at my darkest moment, I should have done the same in return, instead I focused on my own traumas and didn't stop to help you with yours. I let you spiral down this path of madness, now it's about time I made up for my part in what you had become, I'm sorry old friend" said Llesh who left the room. All of The Prospector's pearls began surrounding The Prospector and began mourning him.</p><p>as Llesh left the command centre, he noticed Joshua and Margaret standing there. Margaret looked happy to see him "Grandpa Shell!" she called out in joy, giving him a hug. "Ah, hello dear, it's nice to see you again" Llesh said "and who might this young man be?" "He's my new human daddy" said Margaret. "Ah, so you took the little one under her wing, did you now?" He said to Joshua "well, I can tell from her demeanour you have been taking good care of her..." "I take it you're on our side?" Joshua asked. "In a way I suppose I am, but I still do not forgive the Diamonds for what they have done, but if they are willing to make amends for what they had done to me and so many others, then perhaps one day..." Llesh said. "So...where's..."he"? asked Margaret. "There's no need to go in there, nothing but the mere shell of a man I used to call my friend...I suppose perhaps, it's been that way for a while" said Llesh </p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Disaster at the Gala</h2></a>
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    <p>The war had ended as suddenly as it began. A majority of Gembusters were moved by White Diamond's actions, risking herself coming to harm in order to make an apology for all her empire had done, taking responsibility for the actions of every gem made. There were, however, a few Gembusters that were a bit skeptical about all of this, like an apology or a plan to revive their planets would be enough. Regardless, the war was over, but things were uneasy between gems and gembusters. </p><p>One side killed a few on the other and vice versa, but some soldiers did make friends with the other side, some gems even tried to console the gembuster soldiers. Having noticed this disparity, White Diamond proposed a gala for gems and gembusters alike, it took a while to set up, with Bismuth working fast to rebuild the portion of the palace that was destroyed, and before long the gala had started. Various plants were on display, these plants were actually flora that were native to the planets that were colonized, revived thanks to the work of the gem scientists that White Diamond hired for this project. Even the skeptical gembusters were impressed by this, there was still some bad blood towards gems in general but at the very least they were somewhat convinced by White Diamond, some scars take longer to heal than others. </p><p>Roselena had long been unfused, back to Rose and Selena. Selena reached into her right pocket "Hey, Rose, your phone wound up in my pocket during the unfusing process again" said Selena, holding Rose's phone, but she noticed something small fall out of the phone case. "Ah! I'll get that!" Rose said, blushing. "What was that?" asked Selena. "Nnnnothing! Nothing at all, nothing to be suspicious about" Rose said, standing stiff. "Rose, I've known you since ninth grade, you're not really good at keeping secrets" said Selena "so, let's just skip the awkwardness, my answer is yes." Rose paused "Yes, yes to what?" Rose asked. "That was an engagement ring you were hiding, wasn't it?" Selena guessed. Instead of answering Rose took out the ring and gave it to her. "I was going to ask you sometime during the summer, but I didn't know when to" Rose admitted "so, you're really okay with us going through with it?" "Why not? We're both eighteen, and we're going to be living together anyway when college starts, right?" said Selena. Rose was too overcome with joy.</p><p>"Auntie Garnet! She said yes!" Rose announced. Garnet and Rose simultaneously jumped for joy, squeeing with excitement. "And here I thought I'd be the one pop the question" Selena commented. "Hey, what's with all the commotion over here?" asked Connie. "Mom! Me and Selena are now engaged!" Rose told Connie. "What!? Right after your graduation? Don't you two think you're rushing into this?" Connie asked. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life, and this time I did think things through, we've been together for a while and I know she's the right person I want to make this agreement with" said Rose "I know I just graduated and yes I have done a lot of insane things in my life but this is the one thing where I know what I'm doing." "Well, you're old enough that I can't stop you, if this is what you want, I'll trust that you know what you're doing" said Connie "I'm going to go tell your father, no doubt he'll be ecstatic about this, he always loved that romantic schmaltz." Rose laughed in agreement "That's so him."</p><p>Meanwhile in the back of the palace, Underground Pearl was throwing miscellaneous things at Don Ruby "You small, two timing hussy! How dear you play with my heart!" she cried. "Hey, whoa, what da heck is 'dis about!?" said Don Ruby dodging each thing that she threw at me. "What we did at Fusion Fest, Don Rhodonite, did that mean nothing for you!?" Underground Pearl reminded her. "Hey, whoa, whoa hey, I only fused with you because everyone else was fusing, I'm sorry if ya mistook my intentions!" Don Ruby explained. "Just like you to go around manipulating my feelings, What does Blue Diamond have that I don't!? She doesn't even have an army anymore!" Underground Pearl asked. "Ay, look, you're just not my type, I do like gals taller than me, and you are taller than me, but Blue, she's curvy, I like gals with the right amount of curves and you, well you're kinda scrawny" Down Ruby explained. Don Ruby was many things, but she was no liar, even when keeping secrets she never told any lies. "Urgh, fine, see if I care, pervert!" Underground Pearl cried, storming off. "Ugh, I'm glad that's over" Don Ruby mumbled.</p><p>Meanwhile, Yellow Diamond was chatting with Captain Bloodrose. "I must thank you for the insider information regarding the Amber virus, is there any way I can repay you?" Yellow asked. "Well, there is one thing I could use..." said Captain Bloodrose, whispering into Yellow Diamond's "ear" "Oh, that old thing, sure you can have it, but why?" asked Yellow. "Well, there's just something I need to do that only that ship is capable of" said Captain Bloodrose. Captain Bloodrose was hoping Garnet was right about what she had whispered to him. </p><p>Gala continued on, some of the Gembusters who were mad at all gems, slowly warmed up, they still had their misgivings about the diamonds, but they apologized to the gems who have had nothing to do with the loss of their home planets. The mood on Homeworld was slowly but surely brightening up. Llesh was speaking with White Diamond about something. "So, what I'm suggesting here is, rather than an Empire, we do a huge intergalactic parliamentary system where each member of a different race gets a representative, sort of like with how you're currently running things with here and the gem colonies in this Era 3" he concluded. "Hmm, I think I can see the value in that, the stars know that system has been working wonders since it was implemented twenty years ago" White agreed "I don't know why I didn't take the time to communicate with organic lifeforms such as yourself." </p><p>White then turned to Carbon, who had been listening in to the conversation. "In regards to my earlier apology, I should apologize to you as well" said White "you made me and in return I destroyed the original inhabitants of this planet." "I am just glad you finally learned from your past mistakes" said Carbon "I am glad I decided to step out from where I was hiding, I believe you can do better than my people did on this planet." "I still can't believe such a simple lifeform like you was able to create the diamonds and all of gemkind in the first place" Llesh commented "and I never thought I'd be able to see one of this planet's original inhabitants, my grandfather told me about your people." "Oh, that's right, your a Toisetarian, I've forgotten your people had an extreme longevity, I heard one of your kind was able to live up to a trillion years" Carbon complimented. "Well that's the oldest one my species has lived on record, but the average lifespan is several billion years, luckily my former home planet orbits an immortal sun" said Llesh "one of the vast mysteries this universe holds I suppose." </p><p>Soon, the diamonds had all gathered, with Llesh and Carbon by their sides. "Everyone, I'd like to thank you for all for attending this gala, I know there is still some bad blood between gems and gembusters, but hopefully through hard work and cooperation we can one day put our differences aside, I promise to stay true to my word and honour all promises I have made today. Seeing all these diverse lifeforms together here in one room intermingling have shown me things I've never even seen before, wondrous things, I cannot believe how blind I was to it, but I can see clearly now they way things should have been, they way things can be, I am willing to work together with all of you if you are willing to work together with me."</p><p>Suddenly without warning, a strange grappling like device made contact with White Diamond's gem, pulling on it, causing her to poof, as the gem was pulled back to the grappling device's source. Everyone turned and saw The Prospector, in a very disheveled state, his clothes all messy, a huge bandage over the spear wound, and for some reason a strange gold crown like object was embedded in his head. "So, a pretty speech, and a petty apology and eeeeeeverything's just peachy" he said in a drunken tone of voice. "Wh-what!? I thought I..." Llesh stammered. "Oh, you did, the spear went right through me, but you see, there's a reason I have lived so long" The Prospector mumbled, undoing his coat with one hand, sliding it off, to reveal all sorts of intact gems embedded into his body "I didn't just decorate my coat, I implanted the most powerful gems I harvested into my body, adding to my own strength, all you did was make me lose blood, a lot of it, which is why I lack composure right now, but that's okay, because lookey what I got," The Prospector presented White Diamond's gem, in the clutches of his device.</p><p>"How dare you-! Let White go this instant!" said Yellow, making her way towards The Prospector, many gems and gembusters began to follow suit. The Prospector took out another weapon, a drill like device, and aimed it at White's gem. Everyone gasped and backed away. "Ah, good, I see you understand the situation, any wrong moves, and this big ol' space witch goes 'bye bye'!" The Prospector boasted. Llesh than noticed the device embedded in The Prospector's head. "No, Prospector you didn't..." he said. "Yup, the crown, I installed in my own skull while the rest a y'all were partying with those filthy gems" said The Prospector "I've accumulated the power of various gems embedded in my body, but never a diamond, let's make this old hag useful, huh?" "No, don't!" Llesh called out, but it was too late.</p><p>The Prospector placed White Diamond's gem into the top of the crown like device, and suddenly, the Prospector's veins began glowing white, his body pulsated, growing in size in an asymmetric matter, until his entire body grew to enormous proportions "Oooooh YEAH! Now it's a party!" he said.</p><p>To Be Continued in Series Finale Arc part 4: Crown Jewels  </p>
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